Arabia
Write the first paragraph of your page here. Customs and Religion The Arabians gather frankincense by burning storax in order to drive away the winged serpents which supposedly guarded the trees from which it was harvested. Herodotus Histories = RECW 12.1 p.263 The Arabians mine what Diodorus Siculus calls “fireless gold”, that is to say, gold which was found as entire nuggets. The people of Arabia choose to live primarily as nomadic tribes, as the abundance of animals allows for enough food to support the nomadic populace without resorting to agriculture. Diodorus Siculus The Library of History= RECW 12.2 p.265 According to Strabo, the whole of “Arabia Felix” was divided into five regions or kingdoms, which possessed the warrior class, farmers, manual laborers, myrrh-producers, and the frankincense producers. In Arabia supposedly one occupation would not be traded for another, but rather occupation was passed down from father to son. Brothers were honored more than one’s sons or daughters, and the descendents of kings would rule according to seniority and possess other offices other than that of king. Possessions were held in common amongst families, with the eldest family member being head of household. Wives were held in common but there was always one wife for everyone in the household and the wife would spend the nights with the eldest man, perhaps an early concept of a harem. Incest was not looked down upon, and adultery was punished by death but in order to be viewed as adultery it required that the participants be from different families. Strabo Geography = RECW 12.3 p.269 Also according to Strabo, the Nabataeans were primarily concerned with the art of “gathering possessions”, so much so that “a public penalty is laid upon anyone who lessens what they have, while honor is paid to those who increase it.” They had few slaves and generally had a family structure which provided service as opposed to a slave class. Strabo Geography = RECW 12.3 p.269 Dead bodies were not revered, and rather “Arabians consider dead bodies no different from manure…” Strabo Geography = RECW 12.3 p.270 Babrius, in Fables, gives an account of Hermes filling up his wagon with lies and tricks, only to have his wagon break down in Arabia, where the Arabians steal all these lies and tricks and did not allow the wagon to continue on. This has led to, Babrius concludes, the Arabians being “liars and cheats”, and he claims that “never did a word of truth grace their tongues.” Barbius Fables 57 = RECW 12.5 p.271 Food Arabia is a land of marvels. Depending on the location of the plant and the fertility, some areas produce bigger food than other areas. Siculus discusses the palm tree, the fruit caruoti that is known for its sweetness, size and juice. Throughout Arabia, fruit can reach to six fingers long, vary in colour, and as such charm the palate. Nomads take care of great herds of animals, there are two harvests a year, and this leads to teeming herds of domestic animals due to the amount of water available. Double-humped Camels are milked and eaten causing an abundance of meat. Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History 2.53-54 = RECW 12.2 pp.267-268 One of the kingdoms of Arabia Felix contains only farmers who produce all the food for the people of Arabia. The Nabataeans eat in common mess halls in groups of thirteen men. At symposia, people drink no more than eleven cups of wine, each from a different cup. Arabia also has many fruits. Strabo, Geography 16.4.25-27 = RECW 12.3 pp.269-270 Geography Herodotus states that Arabia is the furthest south of all inhabited lands, and it is the only land which holds frankincense, myrrh, cassia, cinnamon, and gum-mastic, which comes from the sap of acacia trees. Much of Herodotus’ description covers the procuring of these resources. The land is filled with winged serpents and bat-like creatures which guard frankincense-bearing trees and cassia. Herodotus Histories 3.107-3.112 = RECW 12.1 p.263-4 When snakes reproduce, the female snake bites through the head of the male snake. In turn, the offspring devours the belly of the mother Herodotus Histories 3.109 = RECW 12.1 p. 263 Herodotus also describes the smell of Arabia as sweet and divine. Two types of sheep are found in Arabia which are not found anywhere else, and they are used as draught animals, primarily because their tails are three feet in length Herodotus Histories 3.113 =RECW 12.1 p. 264 Diodorus Siculus also describes the resources of Arabia, including the presence of frankincense, “which is most dear to the gods and exported to the whole inhabited world.” Diodorus Siculus The Library of History 2.49 = RECW 12.2 p. 264 Arabians mine fireless gold, which appears in “nuggets the size of chestnuts.” Diodorus Siculus The Library of History 2.50 = RECW 12.2 p. 265 The lands in the south experience the life-sustaining effects of the sun more than any other region, which explains the presence of such multicolored animals. Similarly, he also describes rock formations “composed from pure water that has been frozen not by cold but by the power of divine fire.” Diodorus Siculus The Library of History 2.52 =RECW 12.2 p.266 Pomponius Mela describes the land beyond the Arabian gulf as uninhabitable because it is infested with beasts. Animals Herodotus: According to Herodotus, there are a variety of serpents that are native to Arabia. He first mentions, “Small winged serpents, of the many-colored variety, that guard frankincense-bearing trees,” Histories, 3.107 = RECW 12.1. He also notes that these are the same serpents that inhabit Egypt and cause the people therein trouble. It is only the vipers which cause these snakes from completely overrunning the land. Herodotus also describes that if these snakes were to breed in a manner that is nature to other snakes, the land would be completely infested. The population of snakes is kept in check by their own behavior. After a male and female snake mate with one another, the female snake will then bite through the head of the male. Additionally, some snakes escape from their mothers womb by eating through it, killing the mother. Histories 3.109 = 12.1. Herodotus also mentions, “Winged creatures are somewhat like a bat. They have a terrible shriek and are brave in their own defense. It is necessary to guard one’s eyes from these creatures,” but mentions nothing more of them other than that they seem to guard a plant/root called casia Histories 3.110 = RECW 12.1. Herodotus describes the process by which Arabians collect cinnamon, which seems to be slightly counterproductive. He says that, “Large birds carry the dry sticks, the ones the Phoenicians (and us through them) call cinnamon, and bear them away to nests they make from mud upon sheer cliffs, where it is impossible for a man to approach. The Arabians ... cut up into pieces as large as possible, dead oxen, cows, and other livestock,” Histories 3.111 = RECW 12.1. The birds then take these large pieces of meat into their nests, which subsequently collapse due to the heavy weight. The larger question at hand is why the Arabians do not find where these birds gather cinnamon from and collect it from there, rather than relying on birds. According to Herodotus there are sheep in Arabia that have extremely long tails. Some of the three or four feet in length. To prevent these sheep from damaging their tails, shepherds build small wagons which are attached to the tails of the sheep to prevent them from dragging against the ground Histories 3.113 = RECW 12.1. Diodorus Siculus: In addition to normal animals such as the tiger, leopard, and lion, which are native to Libya, Diodorus Siculus recorded that there are various hybrid animals such as the ostrich-camel, camel-leopard, the goat-stag, and the boubali. Interestingly, though, it was a giraffe that he mistook for a camel-leopard. Diodorus Siculus also attributes the light as something that influences both the size of an animal as well as its behavior. “Thed animals of the rest are always produced following the same logic of excellence in proportion to the local conditions Library of History 2.53 = RECW 12.2. The land is also home to, “Herds of elephants and other monstrous land animals and animals evolved into mixed forms.” Strabo: Strabo tells us that Arabia is home to sheep, large oxen, but horses are unable to live there. Camels are therefore substituted for horses. Geography = RECW 16.4.26. Pomponius Mela: According to Pomponius Mela, there are strange people called The Turtle Eaters who live in the Persian Gulf and clothe themselves in fish skins. They are also covered in hair except for their heads and eat fish meat. Description of the World 3.81 = RECW 12.4. There are also flying beasts, which are not specifically described, as well as snakes that live in the area. Most fantastical of all is the Phoenix, which Pomponius Mela says lives for 500 years and is native to the area. Notes